Questions - Post Production.

What Did You Do In Post Production?

For AS post production, I used Photoshop for basically every task. I actually made my music magazine on Photoshop. After I took my photos for my magazine I uploaded them onto the Apple Macs and then edited them on Photoshop and using the layers tool to put all the bits together like the text and photos.

Using Photoshop I edited the photos, changing the sizes, adding different colour effects, changing contrast and brightness to make them look better and more appealing. I then uploaded these photos separately onto my blog on blogspot.com and uploaded all the parts to my finished music magazine.

How Well Did You Use Them?

I mainly used Photoshop for post production which was very new software to me, so I learnt a lot of new skills using this software such as the specific tools and features it included.

I used Photoshop well for someone who has never used it before after getting used to this software. I only used the simple tools as I didn’t have time to learn everything so I felt that if I had learnt more I could’ve used Photoshop better to improve my music magazine.

What Did You Learn?

I learnt that post production is really important and using a huge software like Photoshop meant that I would have to learn all the aspects and different tools etc, of Photoshop that would make my magazine look more professional than what other software’s would.

Although I had to spend a lot of time learning how to use Photoshop as there are so many tools features you can use. Because of this I only used simple tools such as photo effects, crop, layers, shapes, text etc as I didn't have enough time to learn how to use them all meaning I could’ve used Photoshop better than I did. So for my A2 I need to learn to make sure I make time for what I still need to learn for the software’s I use.    

Questions - Using Conventions from Real Media

Which Were The Most Influential Conventions For You? How Did Your Study Of Them Effect Your Decisions and Outcomes?

The most influential conventions for my AS music magazines were the ones I found when I done my research. These conventions were the main image, the masthead/title, the colours, barcode and price, fonts, other images, layout if page, captions/quotes, whats included in the page, competitions/adverts etc. I found all of these conventions after looking at a lot of other music magazines such as Q, NME, Vibe, XL etc. I looked at music magazines from different genres such as Rock, Rap, R&B and chart music, and looked at how they presented their magazines.

These conventions were very influential as they were the basics and most necessary as they made the magazine because it needs all these conventions to be a good and normal magazine. For example, if a magazine didn't have a main image it would be very plain and boring and it wouldn't appeal to its audience.

Most of the music magazines I looked at in my research had a house style. So I tried to use a house style which was a influential convention for me as other music magazines i looked at used them and I wanted my music magazine to look as professional and like other music magazines as possible.

Another influential convention that effected my outcomes was the images. In my research I noticed that most music magazines had either one main image of a band/artist that is the main focus of the magazine or included in the magazine or loads of little images of stories/articles included in the magazine. So by looking at these influenced my decision as I looked at which looked better and was used more, which is why I decided to go with one main picture to appeal to the audience and make them want to see what is included inside. 

2. Did You Subvert Any Conventions That You Studied In Music Magazines? 

I don’t think that I really subverted any conventions as I wanted my magazine to try to look professional like other music magazines, I’ve also never made a magazine so I tried to follow the norms/rules of making one not thinking of how subverting conventions could have made my magazine more interesting and creative.

One way I did subvert conventions was my main image. I noticed in my research that a lot of magazines used close up pictures of bands/artist and had a plain or edited background or some even have no background at all. So I decided to go a different way and use a mid-shot image of my ‘artist’ which include a lot of the background which you could clearly make out what it was and I didn't crop or edit the background keeping it original but added a slight colour effect to it. I chose this specific background as I thought it looked appealing and fitted in well with the genre of my music magazine which was ‘indie’. Although overall I didn't think my magazine looked professional and I should’ve really edited my image 

Questions - Research and Planning.

Detail how your understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework?

Research and planning in my AS coursework was very important as I needed to get these skills to get through and complete my coursework.

Keeping track of research and planning is very important as you will be less likely to forget or miss something important. Also making sure you have the time for research and planning is important as well as making enough time for everything again means you'll have less chance of forgetting to do something. i could have done better with this in my AS coursework.

I also didn't think of the fact I would be using new software/hardware such as Apple macs, Photoshop, iMovie etc. So I wasted a lot of time learning how to use these, as I didn't include it in my research and planning meaning it set me back a lot when it came to make my magazine. So in A2 I will take this into consideration and leave enough time for things like this.

How did your knowledge of digital technology aid your research and planning skills throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework?

My knowledge of digital technology was very helpful for my research and planning.

Using digital technology such as e-mail was an easy way to contact my teachers about my coursework and deadlines or any questions I had. Also my mobile phone was another way of conducting the people who I used in my magazine, both of these ways were useful as it made planning easier.

Another was the internet which helped a lot for my pre-production. As making my blog was a helpful way to keep track and check all my work and help plan and keep organised as I could check that I had done all the work that had to be done.   

What were good and bad things about the software and hardware you used at AS in terms of skill development?

The software i used in AS was fairly easy to use and i got the hang of things quick although at first i had to learn how to use these softwares such as Photoshop and iMovie as i had never used these before so they were new to me. i learnt a lot of new skills using these softwares.

The hardwares i used such as apple macs were also new to me so i had to learn how to use them as i had never used one before so it took some time getting used to.

Questions.

1. Do You Think You Were Creative Or Not Throughout The Coursework?

I don't think I was very creative throughout my coursework as I feel I didn't put a lot of thought in my coursework and couldve been more creative with my ideas. I didn't really think of how to make some parts of my course work creative as I feel I'm not really a creative person which I feel showed in my work and I went for a very safe and simple look for my coursework and didn't think of creativity.

2. Did Technology Enhance Your Creativity Or Not?

It enhanced my creativity a little as the features of the technologies made me change some parts of my coursework to make it look better and a bit more creative. For example with the Apple Macs I used alot of editing features to make my pictures look better and be more effective and different to try fit with my 'indie' genre based music magazine

3. What ideas did you communicate and what stylistic techniques did you use? How did it relate to your interest/self identity?

4.Was Your Product Influenced By Your Environment?

My product wasn't really influenced by my environment although I did use just the outside environment for the background/setting for some parts of my coursework, e.g. my pictures as the environment fitted in well with the theme for my music magazine and looked good for the backdrop.

5. Was It Original Or Did You Add Something Extra To An Original Media Text?

It wasn't completely original as I researched and looked at other music magazines so I took ideas and examples from them and changed them up for my music magazine e.g I looked at the layout of other music magazines and what type of fonts and colours they would use for their magazines.

6.Would You Take Any Creative Skills Into Future Projects Or Have You Been Influenced To Engage These Skills In Any Other Projects?

I would take the creative skills i learnt from my AS media coursework and use them for my A2 media coursework and any other future projects, as I haven't been very creative in the past so it has influenced me to take the creative skills I have learnt and make sure I try to be creative with every idea I have for my next and future projects, as I feel I can now be more creative after looking back at the mistakes I made and how I lacked creativity in my AS media coursework.